Bethel Man Fighting to Build Crematorium Appeals to Higher Court

Bethel residents, how would you feel about having a crematorium built in your town?

Back in May of 2015, I originally wrote about B. Shawn McLoughlin, who owns a concrete business called Mono-Crete Step at 12 Trowbridge Drive in Bethel. In 2014, McLoughlin decided he wanted to build a crematorium right next to his concrete business. A select group of Bethel residents strongly opposed his crematorium application and the town also nixed the idea.

In case you didn't know, a crematorium is a structure where human bodies are incinerated. I'm thinking that Bethel residents might have a problem with a business in town that burns human remains. According to a recent article in the NewsTimes, McLoughlin is now appealing his case to the Appellate Court after being turned down by a Superior Court judge's ruling.

Another concern brought up by Bethel residents was the environmental issue that's caused by the smoke during a cremation. Back in 2014 when the crematorium idea was being debated, a petition appeared on change.org. with the headline, "Don't Let the Dead Kill the Living."

After 30 minutes of investigating the environmental effects of a crematorium, I found that the jury is still out. For a complete look at how dying affects the environment, I found this website called talkdeath.com. which runs down the statistics of the environmental damage caused by normal burial vs cremation. Don't be afraid, it's actually fascinating!